Crash

Well, yesterday was just supposed to be a great day. Chico with my friends. Run my fastest in the mile and the 800m. Relax at my favorite day of track. I drove up with Ryan and Parker. We were having a great time, listening to music. Everything seemed to slow down from there. We were 15 minutes outside of Chico when the guy with the trailer and truck pulled out in front of the car in front of us from a side road. He was blocking two of the lanes on the highway. The woman in the car in front of us slammed on her brakes and barely missed the truck. At 65mph, we slammed on the brakes, but Parker hit the car. It just seemed like an inevitability, I knew as soon as the car in front of us slammed on her brakes that we were going to crash. We were supposed to have a fourth passenger with us, who would have been in the passenger seat. It's lucky that we didn't, because the passenger air bag didn't deploy. Parker's did, and he got some burns from the airbag on his hands. As soon as we hit the car, I remember the powder that deployed the airbag choking the air. We all checked to see that we were alright. Everything seemed frantic, but still slow again. I remember reminding Parker to turn on his hazard lights. The next thing I know, we're out in the median of the highway and I'm calling the police. The man who caused the accident has already fled the scene in the opposite direction. The woman whom we hit is crying and her kids are screaming. No one was seriously hurt, just shaken up. Standing in the middle of the highway, in a haze, holding hands with Ryan, while Parker shakes his head. The front of the van is smashed. The air bag is deployed. The smoke is still in the air. The radiator is smoking. Fluid is leaking. The emergency sirens start from a ways down the highway. We stand in the middle of the highway for what seems like forever, but time is blurry, and it ends up being about an hour. We talk to the police and shake our heads at how lucky we are. If he had reacted just a moment later. If the driver had pulled out just a second later. If the car behind us hadn't hit their brakes just in time. A thousand other if's fill the hour we stand there. Eventually the police give us a ride into town. All of our parents are two hours away. Our coaches aren't allowed to come get us. Apparently a rule states that they can't help us. The cops drop us off at the University. The actions of a split-second change the day forever. I'm just thankful that we are all safe.